The Book That We Wrote

A Breath of Sculcoates


Those of a certain age will remember that for most of us the highlight of the week (or Christmas Day!) would be watching Morecambe & Wise, and will also recall that 'Little Ern' was a budding playwright, so more often than not, the episode would feature the said play, with hilarious (and disastrous!) consequences caused by Eric! 

Eric, Glenda Jackson and 'Little Ern'
Photo:BBC

With funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the members of the group in 2007 published "A Breath of Sculcoates" looks at the history of the area that goes from Queens Gardens, along Ferensway, Spring Bank, along Princes Avenue, and right along Sculcoates Avenue, north along the River Hull and back to Queens Gardens. Below is a map from 1906, taken from the book, which shows the Sculcoates area. For the sharp eyed among you, you will see that there is no Ferensway yet, and Queens Gardens is still a Dock!

Follow the red Line! Bacon's Map of Hull, 1906


The book looks at the early history of the area, including it's expansion to it's present day boundaries. Most importantly is the people and industry that made it what it is, which includes the former Needlers confectionery factory, the tannery, of which, I believe, supplies the leather for the Cambridge Satchel Company and of course, the National Picture Theatre! 

Unfortunately, the book is now out of print, but there are still a few options of getting the book. If you are in the Hull area, there are copies at various libraries, which can be reserved for a small fee. In the rest of the UK, there is the Inter-Library Loan, which will also incur a fee. Lastly, there are new and second hand copies on the various book websites; my favourite way to search for a good deal on a book is to go to BookButler. Here are the details you need:

Publisher : Developing Our Communities
Year of Publication: 2007
ISBN: 978-0-9556707-0-1


The Book That We Wrote!

Words (c) Tracy Taylor (July 2017)

   

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